So the news is out - Google is now a hardware company. Or so everyone is saying at least. Why else would Google by Motorola Mobility if not to follow Apple's model of bundling a proprietary OS on a proprietary piece of hardware? Let me suggest a few reasons.
The first, of course, is what has already been said. This is to respond to patent attacks. With all of Motorola's patents, Android can keep doing what its been doing and say its got the patents to back it up. I'm certain this is a significant reason why Google bought Moto Mobility, but that doesn't really indicate what Google will do with the company going forward.
Let's first take a comprehensive look at Apple before we buy into their model. Nearly 30 years ago, Apple entered the market with their own OS and their own computer. They thought by controlling quality, users would have a better experience and would gravitate towards their products. But for the first twenty years of its existence, it was nothing more than a sideshow. Microsoft's business model proved more successful. Offer companies an operating system that works and they will build a computer for it to work on. Manufacturers dont want to write software, they want to build stuff. Make their business easier and they will flourish. It worked for Windows and it has already worked for Android. And Google is clever enough to have realized that way before any of us. They know how they got here and aren't likely to shoot themselves in the foot.
Google is a company that prides itself on solving big solutions. Pairing an innovative OS with a limited number of handsets may seem like a good idea to a few less forward thinking business folk, and maybe Google's strong enough to avoid the falls of Motorola of old and Palm, but that would hardly be consistent with Google's way of doing business. Google has always believed that the more a service is used, the more likely they will be able to make money off of it in the future. Unless Page is taking them into a radically different direction than the one he set Google out on so many years ago, Google will continue to promote Android on as many pieces of hardware as possible.
More likely, Google has something far more clever up its sleeve. What if they used those patents not to corner the handset market but to strengthen the full breadth of handsets that run its OS. "Not only will we give you a great OS that your customers want, we will help your hardware give your customers the experience they want." The patents Google now holds can help Samsung and HTC make better Android phones (for a fee, of course). And the better those phones, the more users using Android. And the more eyes that will see Google's ads. Which of course is really how Google makes its money.
The first, of course, is what has already been said. This is to respond to patent attacks. With all of Motorola's patents, Android can keep doing what its been doing and say its got the patents to back it up. I'm certain this is a significant reason why Google bought Moto Mobility, but that doesn't really indicate what Google will do with the company going forward.
Let's first take a comprehensive look at Apple before we buy into their model. Nearly 30 years ago, Apple entered the market with their own OS and their own computer. They thought by controlling quality, users would have a better experience and would gravitate towards their products. But for the first twenty years of its existence, it was nothing more than a sideshow. Microsoft's business model proved more successful. Offer companies an operating system that works and they will build a computer for it to work on. Manufacturers dont want to write software, they want to build stuff. Make their business easier and they will flourish. It worked for Windows and it has already worked for Android. And Google is clever enough to have realized that way before any of us. They know how they got here and aren't likely to shoot themselves in the foot.
Google is a company that prides itself on solving big solutions. Pairing an innovative OS with a limited number of handsets may seem like a good idea to a few less forward thinking business folk, and maybe Google's strong enough to avoid the falls of Motorola of old and Palm, but that would hardly be consistent with Google's way of doing business. Google has always believed that the more a service is used, the more likely they will be able to make money off of it in the future. Unless Page is taking them into a radically different direction than the one he set Google out on so many years ago, Google will continue to promote Android on as many pieces of hardware as possible.
More likely, Google has something far more clever up its sleeve. What if they used those patents not to corner the handset market but to strengthen the full breadth of handsets that run its OS. "Not only will we give you a great OS that your customers want, we will help your hardware give your customers the experience they want." The patents Google now holds can help Samsung and HTC make better Android phones (for a fee, of course). And the better those phones, the more users using Android. And the more eyes that will see Google's ads. Which of course is really how Google makes its money.
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